Swami teaches... Part1. Guidelines for spiritual lifestyle

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Light and Love Swami teaches... Part 1. Guidelines for Spiritual Lifestyle Snowy peaks of mountains teach human to be as pure and unblemished as their whiteness. The silence of valleys is very inspiring; when the heart is free from agitation, the tongue is dumb and the ear has rest. That is why in olden times, and even today, sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) came to solitary places and did penance. The sages and saints have carried with them the silence of hills, the warm affection of the hot springs, the spirit of sacrifice. Nevertheless, it is, no use searching for silence with a noisy storm raging inside. You are where your mind is, not where your body rests. You should not give room to different fanciful desires, which will sap your mental powers. Do not entertain all sorts of unrealistic and imaginary aspirations. What is supremely important is the present. A person visited Kasi (Benares), Prayag, Haridwar, etc. Although tired with the daylong journey, person could not sleep during the nights. During the daytime, he used to have darshan of beautiful images of Gods and Goddesses and bathe in the sacred waters of holy rivers. Person was happy that by these religious activities own sins were being washed away. However, when person investigated into the reason for his/her not getting sleep during the nights, person found that there were lots of bugs in his bedding. In the same manner, in our bedstead called the body there are any number of bugs, namely, endless desires of various types. As long as these desires are there, one cannot escape from miseries wherever one might go. As a human grows older, the desires also grow, instead of diminishing. All the pains and pleasures human experiences are the results of own actions and not due to any act of the Divine. God is only a witness, like a postman. He delivers to you whatever letter is addressed to you. The grief or joy you derive from the contents of the letter is your own. However, there is the operation of special grace on certain occasions. When you pray to God with a pure heart, without a trace of selfishness and with sacred feelings, God confers special favor. Moreover, when a person has done some unique act of sacrifice in a previous life or at any time in the past, the Divine confers an appropriate reward for it at the proper time. Krishna came to the rescue of Draupadi (wife of Pandavas) when Duryodhana (chief of the evil-minded sons of Dhritharashtra) attempted to disrobe her, by making her sari endless, in return for the readiness with which Draupadi tore off a piece from her sari to bind the bleeding finger of Krishna. We can experience God’s Love only with love from our side. Love and peace are the most essential qualities for a human being. A millionaire may build several residences, purchase a number of cars and have several conveniences. However, whomever you come across, they say that they have no peace. Of what use are all this wealth, comforts, and conveniences, if there is no peace within? There was a rich landlord who went in search of some land. He has a desire to purchase an additional piece of land. Having come to know of this man’s efforts, a person came to him and advised, “Sir! You may please go to the Himalayan region where plenty of land is available free of cost.” This man went to the Himalayas and contacted the king of that region. The king told him: “I promise to give you all that land which you cover by walking from sunrise to sunset.” The landlord was very happy. Next morning, he set on his expedition, enthusiastically. In fact, he began to run greedily with a view to acquire more land. It was sunset. He was very tired and weak. Yet, he did not give up his greed. Just when he was at a distance of six feet before his final goal, he swooned and fell down. The king came to that spot, saw his condition, and commented: “Alas! What this man requires now is only six feet land!” (Running towards pleasures and fleeing from pain is characteristic of animalism. Animal rashes towards you when you show it the green grass in your hand, but it will run away from you when you show it the cane in your hand. Thus, attraction to what appears to be good and repulsion from what appears to be bad is the nature of animals). No one can separate pain from pleasure, sorrow from joy, or loss from gain since they are inextricably intertwined. We can never find anywhere unadulterated pleasure or pain separate from each other. The fruit of pain is pleasure and vice versa. Birth and death are the root causes for joy and sorrow. Nevertheless, for whom are these births and deaths? Death is for that which is born, and birth is for that which has died. If there is no birth, there is no death. This body is the root cause for birth and death as well as for Ahamkara and Mamakara (the feelings of "I" and "Mine"). You should not be misguided by the worldly and superficial meanings, and forget the inner meanings. This is the crux of spirituality. The waywardness of your mind prevails in the gross state of wakefulness as well as in the subtle state of dreaming. You should not become a victim of the feelings of anger, hatred, ego, or pride, which may arise in you. When such feelings arise in you, sit silently for a few minutes. Instead of doing so, you must not give vent to your anger by scolding or beating others as you like. As soon as you get angry, you should immediately leave that place, go out into the open, and quietly walk a furlong. An easier method than this is to stand before a mirror and look into your own angry face. You will dislike your own face and look upon it with disgust or aversion. Then try to laugh heartily and your anger will leave you. If you find it difficult even to do this, go into your bathroom and turn the water tap on. To the accompaniment of the tune of the sound created by the water flowing from the tap, begin to sing a good song. Or else, drink a glass of cold water. Like this, you have to seek ways and means of regaining a calm and peaceful mood. The less you talk, the more will become your mental power. With the increase in your mental capacity, there will be increase in your power of discrimination too. Consequently, you will give up "individual discrimination" and resort to "fundamental discrimination." Because of this, you will begin to consider the good of the world at large rather than your own individual welfare.

 

All sorrow is related to the body and worldly desires. You experience desires in the waking state. In the deep sleep state one is totally unaware of even the body and of the phenomenal world. Hence there is no sorrow in that state. By constant contemplation on God the mind should be turned away from mundane desires. That is the way to get rid of both pain and pleasure.

Like the Ganga rushing towards the sea from where its waters are derived, the Jivi (individual soul) must hurry towards Brahman (Supreme Spirit, Atman) from which it has separated. The Ganga does not allow any obstacle to stop its course. You too should proceed, laughing, roiling, and tripping gladly over rock and boulder of life towards the goal, the source.

Today mainly the form fascinates us. This transient form is tormenting us, which is but a reflection. We are to take cognizance not of the form but of our Divine source. Atma (Self) is our source, which is also called Adi-atma, (Adhi-aathma) -pertaining to the individual soul, spirit, or manifestation of Supreme Paramatma. Adi + Atma, i.e., Atma (that is truly Adi, the beginning, or source). Hence, we should get back to our source. Then alone can we experience total (unalloyed) bliss. If you bring a fish and keep it in a gold vessel studded with all the nine precious gems, it will not at all feel happy. On the contrary, it will struggle restlessly to get back to its source, namely, water. So also, we have strayed away from Atma, our source. Having been enticed by the worldly pleasures like wealth, gold, vehicles, and other properties, we are forgetting our very source. When we deeply ponder over this matter, the fish seems to be more intelligent than human. That fish has not forgotten its source, while human who, despite all his/her education,intelligence, culture and sophistication, has forgotten the source.

Our bodies are like vessels. Whatever changes the vessels may undergo, our source will never change. For example, a silver plate, a silver tumbler, and a silver box--the names and forms of these three articles are different. However, when any one of these three articles is melted, what remains is silver alone. Similarly, whatever names and forms we may assume, the common substratum of all these forms will continue to be the same Atma that is changeless. How can a human who is not aware of own humanness recognize the Divinity within him/her? Hence the first requisite is the recognition by everyone of own human essence. Basing on this truth, Buddha declared that everyone should cultivate at the outset a samyag-dhrishti (pure vision). Buddha's emphasis was entirely on purity in every aspect of daily life.

The second quality that is needed is samyag-sankalpa (pure thoughts). Only the person who has developed purity in vision can have purity in thoughts. The third requirement for everyone, along with purity in vision and thought, is samyag-karma (pure deeds). Through pure deeds person is able to recognize own human essence. By the capacity, for developing good vision, entertaining good thoughts and performing good deeds, person has the power to transform humanness into Divinity A fourth requirement is samyag-shruthi (listening to sacred words). The fifth quality prescribed by Buddha is samyag-jivanam (living a pure life). True living means making one's life meaningful by ideal actions. Human's life must be governed by idealism in action. Buddha declared that everyone should aim at samyag-sadhana (achievement of the highest good). True sadhana is the eradication of all evil in a human. Study of sacred texts, meditation, and penance do not constitute the whole of sadhana. To remove all the impurities in the mind is real sadhana. After this comes what Buddha called samyag-samadhi or Nirvana (pure realization or liberation, freedom from the bondage of mundane existence). Samadhi means treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss alike. To look upon light and darkness, pleasure and pain, profit and loss, fame and censure with an equal mind is Samadhi. Buddha termed this equal mindedness as Nirvana. At the very outset, one has to keep the tongue pure. This was referred to as samyag-vaak (purity in speech). The tongue has to be sanctified by refraining from falsehood, slander and abusive speech. Next is samyag-dharshanam (seeing only things that are holy). You must see only things that please your conscience. Seeing all worldly things is not proper seeing at all. Buddha declared Ahimsa (non-harming) as the supreme good. Hence, he declared, "Ahimsa Paramodharmah" (Non-hurting is the Supreme Dharma). No one should cause hurt to others by speech, action or in any other way. According to him, true Dharma (Righteousness) consists in refraining from causing harm to anyone in thought, word, or deed. In general, Buddha taught one great, truth to the world. People should bear in mind that non-harming is the supreme virtue.

Buddha taught that people should adhere to truth and uphold it. Among Buddha's teachings, the foremost were Sathya (Truth) and Dharma (Righteousness). The light that illumines the three worlds is Righteousness. What is this Dharma? Dharma is that which upholds everything. This means that without Dharma the Cosmos cannot exist. There can be no life without the sustaining power of Dharma. Every object in the Universe is governed by its Dharma (the law of its being). For instance, there is fire. What is its Dharma? The capacity to bum is the basic trait of fire. When the burning power is lost, it ceases to be fire. Likewise, the Dharma of ice is coldness. When ice loses its coldness, it ceases to be ice. For human, the Dharma is Righteousness. Righteousness implies harmony in thought, word, and deed. The unity of body, speech, and mind promotes purity and sacredness in human. This triune purity constitutes humanness. All human's actions should be pure and according to the dictates of the conscience. Buddha asked himself, "What is this life? Birth is misery. There is misery at the end of life. Happiness is not to be found in any of the things of the world. Everything is fleeting. Nirvana is the only truth. It is the sense of oneness with all life. To turn the mind towards that which is permanent is Nirvana.

 

However, Buddha also declared, "Hands in the society, head in the forest." He renounced everything to think about promoting the wellbeing of society. The Buddhist prayer must be properly understood. "Buddham sharanam gachchaami, Dharmam sharanam gachchaami, Sangham sharanam gachchaami," the real meaning of the prayer is, “You must divert your Buddhi (mind, intellect) towards Dharma (right conduct). And the right conduct should aim at serving society. When this is done, society gets purified.”

PS 1. Buddha was totally opposed to anyone being forced to lead a worldly life against his will. When Buddha was going round begging for alms as a mendicant, his father, Shuddhodhana, called him and said, "Son! Why are you going about as a beggar? I am a king and you are leading the life of a beggar. This is not proper at all." Buddha gave him a fitting reply. "Sir, you are Brahman and I am Brahman. You are not father and I am not son. In the phenomenal world, you belong to the lineage of rulers. I belong to the lineage of renunciants. All those who follow my ideals are all renunciants. Your lineage is based on attachment. My lineage is based on renunciation. To those who have attachment, it becomes a disease. To the renunciants, detachment becomes the means to Nirvana."

PS 2. When Buddha was born, a renowned astrologer had predicted that he would be either a great king or a great renunciant. The name given to Buddha at the time of birth was Sarvartha Siddha. Buddha's mother Maaya Dhevi passed away on the seventh day after his birth. Shuddhodhana's second wife Gauthami, brought up the child. Because he was brought up by Gauthami, he was named Gauthama Buddha. His father Shuddhodhana, tried to protect son from all external worldly influences by keeping him in the palace and not even sending him to school. Shuddhodhana got his son married to Yashodhara, daughter of his brother-in-law, Shuddhabuddha. He apprehended that his son might become a recluse and turn away from the world. Nevertheless, Buddha did not feel that a married life was the proper thing for him. Buddha felt that man was bound by various attachments in worldly life. Friends and relations were the cause of this bondage. Various human relationships were the cause of sorrow in the world. So he declared, "All is sorrow and everything in this life is momentary and perishable." Parents were subjecting their children to various kinds of bonds and making their lives miserable. As soon as the children come of age, the parents are keen to get them married. They do not know what happiness have they derived from their own married life physically, mentally or otherwise? No person, however intelligent, thinks about this matter. Buddha felt intensely unhappy that his parents and others combined to commit him to the bondage of married life. At the age of 28, he gave up everything and turned a renunciant. One day, at midnight, Buddha left the palace, giving up his wife and young son, Rahul. Buddha sought to find out why the mind gets disturbed. He could not bear the sight of anyone in pain. He was saddened at the sight of the old ill-treating the young, of men in authority harassing the people and the big fish swallowing the small ones. He was deeply grieved at the sight of persons afflicted with old age. He was intrigued at the sight of a dead body. None of these natural happenings gave him peace of mind. Buddha considered the movements of the planets and the Sun and the stars as natural phenomena. He undertook many spiritual exercises to find out what transcended these natural phenomena. Failing to find the answers by these exercises, he approached many great elders to find the answers. None could give him satisfactory answers. Ultimately he reached Gaya and sat trader a banyan tree to meditate on the problems that worried him. Because Buddha did not interest himself in the study of the Vedas or in the performance of yagas and yajnas, he was dubbed an atheist. This is utterly wrong. Buddha was a pure hearted person. Buddha decided to renounce everything in quest of the truth about human existence. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 2. "The Name of Naaraayana," Chapter 9; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 25. "Rise From Animality To Divinity," Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 29. "The four beacons," Chapter 20 and "As you sow, so shall you reap," Chapter 23; Sathya Sai Speaks. Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 30. "Purity--the path to Liberation," Chapter 13; http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Christmas2006_Discourse.html). Namaste - Reet